John Locke and Morteza Motahhari on Natural Rights

The issue of natural rights is one of the old subject matters discussed by theologians and philosophers. My question in this essay is what John Locke and Morteza Motahhari’s views on the meaning and role of natural rights, especially, what their views on four central aspects of natural rights, namely freedom, justice, ownership, and human rights, are, and in what respects their views are resemble and in what others are different. The present study addresses critically the foundations of these two thinkers on natural right and consider whether or not these foundations are rooted in theology or anthropology or both? Then, shedding light on resemblances and differences between the two thinkers, who belong to different philosophical traditions, we assess the effects and consequences of their perspective towards natural rights concerning human society. Ultimately, we show that Motahhari and Locke’s perspectives towards human rights based on their distinct philosophical traditions introduce different horizons to human development and progress.